A Barack Comment

Today America celebrated a great milestone in its history. A black man was sworn in as the President of the United States for the first time. Many hailed it as a triumph for the country, proof that racism, prejudice, and hate were defeated at last. No more, they said, would the color of a person's skin dictate the heights he could achieve. The American people spoke as one, and they proudly declared that the evils of our past ended here and now.

I disagree with these people.

There remain those who claim that President Obama was elected largely because he was black. Invariably, these people are labeled as racists, bigots, and any manner of terms leveled at those who factor race into a decision regarding another person. People will applaud President Obama's political prowess, his dedication to his message, his firm view on the direction for our country. But the end word will always fall on race. It is inevitable.

This is because racism and prejudice cannot be eliminated by a champion of any color. The very acknowledgement of a person's race is undeniably a categorization. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun said, "In order to get beyond racism, we must first take account of race. There is no other way. And in order to treat some persons equally, we must treat them differently." Blackmun makes this claim on the same bench from which Separate but Equal was torn down. How can he believe that the way to end racism is to embrace any variance in the treatment of an individual based on race? Any distinction in treatment is an admittance of distinction in person. There is no way around this. Not while Americans insist on discussing accomplishments in terms of race. Leontyne Price, one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century, perhaps said it best: "Accomplishments have no color."

Until Americans are judged solely on the merits of their character and actions, our nation will never be able to fully wash it hands of its intolerant past. Its people must no longer be seen as a palette if we are to achieve what President Obama and his supporters claim to have wrought.